ardy's reel was introduced in 1891 and included most of the improvements that fishermen had been asking for: it was narrow between the plates, and deep in the drum, with an adjustable check (within a limited range). It had a 'foot' mounting, and a patent 'revolving ring line guard' which facilitated the shooting of line. The reel ran on ball-bearings and could be taken apart for easy cleaning, unlike its predecessors. This ease of disassembly was the key to the Perfect's success. Prior to the Perfect, the side plates of reels were held together with screwed intermediate bars, and a reel that had grit inside it was a nightmare to clean. The only feature the Perfect lacked was an exposed rim, precluded by the nature of the design - the shot above shows the brass spool recessed inside a steel cage in an early twentieth century example.

If the Perfect had a serious fault, it was the drag mechanism, which was barely effective. In my assessment, the Perfect can rightly claim to be the most successful reel of all time, having remained in production for the best part of a century, during which time many dozens of variations and improvements to the original design were made. Ultimately, the Achilles' heel of the Perfect was the fact that changing spools is tricky compared to more modern latch mechanisms, and faced with the ever present danger of dropping the retaining screw into the river, most anglers switched to other brands.

The shot here shows a 3" 1896 model all brass "Perfect" fly reel, straight line and oval logos, rod in hand trade mark, ivorine handle, oil hole in centre of face, strap over tension adjuster, large and small ventilations in spool, open ball race. This is a very early model, circa 1898.

And yeah, they do all have feet, I just couldn't resist editing the one at top so it was perfectly round. Look at the patina on that face, huh?

For you and I, the chief problem with Perfects is that we can't afford to buy them any more. The Perfect has become one of the most collectible reels of all time and even poor examples fetch ridiculous prices nowadays. So if you happen to see one in a junk store, my advice is to buy it. There is a growing market in counterfeit Perfects and to make things worse there are many reels out there that have been kludged together and are barely worth the price of the metal. Beware the auctions if you have one to sell - in my experience these reels get knocked down for a song before appearing at inflated prices in dealer's catalogues. Strange, or no?